The 39-year-old man, who remained unidentified late Wednesday, eventually said he had also killed his parents and father-in-law during a rampage Tuesday, The Telegraph reported. All the victims were killed with an ax, which the man said he had bought for that purpose.

Investigators found the bodies of the man's wife and their 7-year-old daughter in their home in an expensive Viennese neighborhood. The father-in-law was killed at his home in Linz, a two-hour drive west of Vienna, and the parents in Ansfelden near Linz.

"We are dealing with a premeditated crime," said Alois Lissl, the Linz police chief. "The attacks were extremely brutal and he always aimed for the head as he struck his victims."

Police said the man told them he wanted to spare his family "the shame of bankruptcy" after he borrowed money from a relative and then lost it in an investment.